Maybe
by Jakia
Summary: What a tangled web we weave, full of secrets we keep so deep! A look at several people and their view on a relationship between a Waterbender and a Fire Prince. [zutara, onesided kataang. aangst. Zula's POV now up.]
1. Aangst

_A/N: Started as a drabble for the Avatar100, but, uh, grew. I did three sets, one for Aang, one for Katara, and one for Zuko. I hope you enjoy it and will please review for me. This is just one of the many ways I could see zutara happening (slowly). This particular drabble is Aangst. Spicy._

**Maybe**

**Jakia**

She wasn't listening to him.

She never was. Not anymore. It must have been the twelfth time since they left the North Pole that he confessed his unending love for her, and she had not heard a one of them. A part of him thought she was doing it on purpose, but he chided himself for thinking like that. This was _Katara_—his friend, his crush. She would never do something like that. Katara was not capable of evil--- of breaking his heart so harshly.

But that had not stopped him from watching her. Watching as she fought Prince Zuko, for the Prince was the only one she fought anymore. The same could be said for Zuko, of course, for, ever since the battle at the North Pole, he has shifted his bending abilities and attention from the Avatar to Katara, leaving his men to try to overpower the Avatar and Sokka by numbers alone. No one ever interfered with his battle against Katara.

It was amusing, watching them fight. They were so evenly matched that they never could tell who was the better bender. On some occasions, Katara would win. Yet, on others, Zuko would beat her. The best time to watch them fight was at twilight, when both the sun and moon were out to lend their strengths, and the pairs true potential revealed.

They, too, had changed. Where once they had fought one another with such passion and anger, hurling insults at one another as they tried to destroy their opponent; now was replaced with a bitter sort of playfulness and, dare he say it? Flirtatiousness. The still hurled insults at one another, but there was no hostility in these insults. There was a _spark_ when their eyes met, when they fought against each other---one that Aang didn't fully understand, and as his gut told him, he didn't want to.

Aang would almost go as far as to say that Prince Zuko had the same crush he did on Katara, but had a far different way of showing it. A way that was _winning_, too.

Maybe _he_ should fight her. That would get her attention, at least.

She was sitting by the stream, practicing her waterbending. Maybe he could talk to her again.

Maybe she would listen to him.

"Katara?" He asked quietly. "I want to talk to you."

She didn't answer. She never did.

He sighed. "I love you, Katara. I hope you know that."

Katara jumped back. "I'm sorry Aang, did you say something?"

_Yes_. He growled in his mind.

"It was nothing." He ended up saying, brushing her off quietly. "Besides, you look like your deep in thought. What were you thinking about?"

She blushed. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course." He smiled, knowing and secretly dreading what she was about to say.

"I was thinking about Prince Zuko." She confessed, folding her knees under her arms.

Suddenly, his stomach hurt painfully. "What about him?" He asked cautiously. Her face turned crimson at the question.

"J-just that, well, do you ever get the feeling that he's actually on our side?" She stumped out, her hand bending a small strip of water around her hand.

_All the time._ "I think he _wants_ to be on our side." He answered honestly. "But I think his pride gets in the way. He doesn't want to admit he's wrong."

She put her head on her knees, her face turning red again. "I want him to join us. I know it's crazy, but I have a lot of fun with him." _And you don't with me?_ "He makes me laugh." _I don't?_ "He challenges me." _Hello! I'm the Avatar! What more of a challenge do you need?_

She nuzzled her head into her knees, turning towards the water instead of her friend. "I think I like him, Aang. I really do. I know it's wrong, but---" She sighed a little. "Every time he's near me, I feel…complete. Like a part of me that I didn't know was missing has suddenly returned."

Aang's heart broke. His face fell. His world shattered. He wanted to _cry_, damnit.

She didn't notice. She never did, anymore. She just continued her lovesick sigh and playing with her small strip of water.

XXX

_And on to drabble two!_


	2. Katara

_A/N: Started as a drabble for the Avatar100, but, uh, grew. I did three sets, one for Aang, one for Katara, and one for Zuko. I hope you enjoy it and will please review for me. This is just one of the many ways I could see zutara happening (slowly). It's also a little theory I have about Katara's reaction in the Fortune Teller. This particular drabble is Kataradrama. Yummy._

**Maybe--Katara**

**Jakia**

She hated lying to him.

She hated it, really, she did. In truth, she heard every word he said, every time he said it. He's gotten good at confessing his love for her she had to admit. Has actually gotten somewhat poetic about it. Once or twice she even wanted to reply, if only to say how beautiful it was.

But that would admit she had heard him, and that would lead to her having to answer him.

And she couldn't break his heart just yet.

Never mind that she didn't return his feelings. Never mind that she didn't think about him like that. It was so much easier to ignore him---it left him hopeful and it left her without having to feign something she did not feel, or worse, break his heart.

To break the spirit of the Avatar would have been horrible, and she could not commit such a crime.

Not yet, at least.

She had heard him every time he spoke. She heard him all the way back then, when they were at Aunt Wu's village, when he confessed for the first time. Her broke her, too, because she cares about him. She really does. Aang is her best friend—she would do anything for him.

_Almost_ anything. She couldn't fall in love with him. She almost wished she could. It would make her life so much easier. She wished she did love him, so that way they could all be happy, but they weren't. She could control who she fell in love with just as easy as she could stop being a waterbender. It was impossible.

Which is why she changed her focus from Aang to Zuko.

It was such a quiet thing. First, it was just being good enough to stop him from capturing Aang. Then, it changed, slowly. Suddenly it wasn't so much stopping him as it was _challenging_ him with her bending abilities. Slowly after challenging him by force it became challenging his mind, as their battle of wit escaladed to new heights. Now, she was no long "water peasant". She was now "barbaric water tribe girl who thinks she knows everything."

He, likewise, had grown from "stupid Prince" to "arrogant and spoiled temperamental Fire Prince!"

Their insults varied day-to-day, though her favorite by far was, "Damn beautiful water-witch, why can't I beat you, foolish woman?" He had muttered it so low under his breath she wasn't sure she had heard him right. She knew for a fact he had not meant for her to hear that insult, but she had heard it anyway.

It made her blush just thinking about it. He thought she was pretty? No, not pretty—_beautiful_. It sent foreign shivers up and down her spine as she thought about the Fire Prince. While she was sure someone must have thought it, no one had ever actually _said_ it to her, and that meant the world to her. Even if it was unintentionally, it still meant something to her. After all her traveling, she had not had much time to care much for her looks, and hearing someone comment on them, positively, had…well, it made her feel like a _girl._ So often while traveling with Aang and Sokka she had been treated as one of the guys. It was so _nice_ to be treated like…well, a girl. Positively, that is. She didn't need Pakku telling her that she was a woman and needed to be in a hut, barefoot and pregnant.

Which led to a further study of this Prince.

Which led to the idea that he might be handsome, if he had a better personality.

Which led to the fact that he _was_ handsome, in spite of his personality.

Which led to the curious thought that maybe his personality wasn't so bad, either.

Which, in turn, led to the idea that maybe he wasn't bad, either.

It was crazy, but somewhere in their battles, they stopped fighting. Instead, they had begun sparing; as if their fights were just an attempt from to better themselves at their respective bendings. There was no longer an attempt to hurt one another, just fighting. She hated it, but it was almost _romantic._

Which is why she was here, away from everyone else, playing in the stream, half-listening as Aang gave his latest confession of love.

She would tell him the truth, she decided. About her feelings towards Zuko.

"I'm sorry Aang, did you say something?"

XXX

_On to drabble three!_


	3. Zuko

_A/N: Started as a drabble for the Avatar100, but, uh, grew. I did three sets, one for Aang, one for Katara, and one for Zuko. I hope you enjoy it and will please review for me. This is just one of the many ways I could see zutara happening (slowly). This particular drabble is Zukoreflective. Juicy._

**Maybe--Zuko**

**Jakia**

He was a Prince.

He was also a powerful Firebender. A soldier. A dedicated and compassionate young man who had dedicated his life (however reluctantly) to capturing the Avatar for the sake of his nation. At the age of sixteen, he had commanded a fire navy ship, to which he earned the respect and trust of his men.

Yet, he was just a boy.

And boys, after all, were allowed their crushes. They were allowed to let their eyes wander to their female betters, and think thoughts they had no business thinking. At least, this is what Iroh believed; he just never thought he would have to deal with Zuko and a crush.

Zuko never believed he would either, until it happened to him.

He figured he would get married some day, but he always imagined it being in an arranged marriage, prearranged by his father to some Fire Nation noble. Now, however, he couldn't get the idea of _that damn waterbender_ in the white marriageable silks of his nation.

And yes, she was that damn waterbender. Sometimes water-witch. Never Katara. To refer to her as Katara would admit that he thought about her, that he _acknowledged _her, and he could not bring himself to do that. Even if it were true, he would not allow such thoughts to betray him.

And yet, here he was, thinking about her.

It was starting to get ridiculous the amount of time he spent thinking about that damn waterbender. He hadn't even obsessed over the Avatar this much, and the Avatar was his only chance home. Then again, the Avatar wasn't a girl, with a lovely feminine form that had suddenly invaded the Prince's dreams…

_You're doing it again._ His conscience berated him. And still the image of _Katara_ (A/N: I wish FF did strikethrough. When you see Katara italiced, pretend there is a line through her name.) the young waterbender stuck in his head.

It was crazy, but in a few short weeks, _Katara_ the waterbender had managed to invade his innermost thoughts, the kind he didn't even realize he had. They weren't bad thoughts, at least, not all of the time. But above all, the thoughts (and dare he say feelings) he held for Katara made him feel…normal. Like a normal, average, sixteen year old boy experiencing his first crush, and not some duty-bounded, honor-hungry Prince trying to kidnap a twelve year old.

He wasn't for sure how he felt about that, only that it was different, and, with time, he could probably like it.

It figures that he would fall for her, of course. Zuko _had _tofall for a girl who could beat him up. His pride wouldn't let him have it any other way. No damsel in distress for him, no siree, he wanted a girl who could _challenge _him, who would fight him tooth and nail over anything and everything.

A few times, he wanted to try and talk to _Katara_ the waterbender, but that never did work out for him. He was shy, mainly, and any and all attempts to flirt or at least treat her like a human being instead of a punching bag did not end up well for him.

So he did what he was good at: He insulted her.

And in the process, fell for her. Harder.

It was borderline disgusting, really.

Almost made him sick to his stomach how lovesick he was for this girl.

He wondered silently if she thought about _him_ at all. He wondered if she spent half the amount of time obsessing over him as he did over her.

…or not. She probably would be scared if she knew how much he thought about her.

He couldn't help it, damnit! He can't help the fact that he has an obsessive personality. He _always_ has! Ever since he was a kid he's been like that. When there is something he wants, he obsessive over it.

He wondered if he would ever speak to her without fighting her. He wondered what he would say. He wondered if he'd be _able_ to say anything without clamming up.

So he wondered.

XXX

:end:


	4. Iroh

_A/N: Yeah, it **so** was going to be over with, but then **somebody** (you know who you are) suggested that I do a few more chapters with Iroh and Sokka's viewpoint. Then the plot bunnies attacked and ate my soul for breakfast. There are going to be a lot more drabbles to come, I just have to write them. Expect Sokka, Zula, Ozai, Aunt Wu, Meng, Aang again, Bato, Yue, Sokka and Katara's father, maybe their mother's ghost, and King Bumi's (and possibly some Unmatchmaker characters as well) point of view coming as well. I can't promise when I'll be able to update, as it probably won't be that often, but I'll try._

_Also, it's my seventeenth birthday this Sunday, and I GOT A CAR! W00T!_

**Maybe---Iroh**

It was a crazy thought, but Iroh thought that, maybe, Prince Zuko was in _love._

The old man laughed at himself. It was just so _silly_. I mean, he _knew_ the sort of boy Zuko was. Zuko was _not_ the sort of boy to fall in love easily. In fact, Iroh thought, you'd probably have to drug the poor boy to get him to feel _any_ sort of romantic notion towards anyone.

And yet, the way he's been acting, you'd think he was in love.

Or maybe…

Iroh grinned. It just got better.

…Or maybe his nephew had a _crush_, which made it all the more endearing in the long run.

The poor Prince was trying his hardest to hide it, too. It was working, too, for the most part. But nothing got past Iroh. A shy blush that would escape on to the Prince's face whenever the young water tribe girl was mentioned was all the indication the crazed Uncle needed in order to "set his nephew right".

But first, he decided rather shortly, he would have to meet this water girl. See what sort of _person_ she was, see if she would, in time, make a good Fire Lady. And most importantly, see if she was capable of birthing children.

After all, Zuko was the closest thing Iroh had left to as a son, and he wanted _grandbabies_, damnit.

Which explained why he was here, sipping tea with the poor, confused girl.

"Hello my dear." Iroh said pleasantly, sipping his tea quietly. Katara turned around swiftly, her eyes widening.

"You!" She gasped. "Your…" She stopped. "What's your name again?"

Iroh smiled. "I don't believe we've ever been properly introduced anyway. My name is Iroh, but you can call me Uncle, if you wish."

"Uncle." She said starring. "Well, Uncle, I'm Katara." She said, bowing politely.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Katara." Iroh bowed his own head in response. "Won't you have some tea? It's lovely, here."

Katara smiled. "I was always told _not_ to have tea with my arch enemy, thank you very much." She then looked around the teahouse curiously. "Is Zuko here?" She asked, almost a bit _too_ excitedly.

"Not at the moment, no." Iroh explained. "He's on our ship at the moment, practicing." He took a long gulp of his tea, savoring the Jasmine flavoring. "I do wish you would join me for a cup of tea. Zuko never does, and I could use some company."

Katara gave him a sad smile. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have a cup, would it?" She sat across from the old man, pouring herself some of his Jasmine tea. She stared off distantly, as if distracted by something in the teahouse.

"What's wrong, my dear?" Iroh asked, noticing her blank stare. This was perfect---he could not have planned to meet the object of Zuko's affection any better than right now.

She sighed softly. "I'm afraid I've hurt one of my friends."

Iroh raised his eyebrow. "How so?"

"I told him…the truth. About how I feel. He—" She stopped, biting her lip nervously. "He didn't take it well at all."

"Hmm." Iroh muttered, sipping his tea curiously. "We're you expecting him to?"

Katara stared at her tea glass. "No, I guess not."

"Go on." Iroh prodded, offering her a warm smile. She returned it sorrowfully.

"I---I, he, uh, well…" She paused, words failing her. "He loves me. But—"

"But you don't love him?" Iroh offered.

She shook her head. "No, I do love him! Just—"

"Not that way?" She nodded sadly.

"I'm just afraid I've ruined our friendship because I'm not willing to give it a chance." She said tiredly. "It's just---_I don't like him that way!_ And yet—it's difficult…"

"…Because you still want to be friends?" Iroh laughed. This girl was getting more interesting the long he spoke with her.

"Of course I do." She said quietly. "Aang's my friend. My _best_ friend. He always has been. I just…I can't _make_ myself fall in love!"

"Of course not!" Iroh laughed heartedly. "My dear, you could soon choose who you fall in love with as you could change the color of your eyes! There is no need to fret so much."

Katara frowned. "I know, I just feel bad about it."

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "I take it your friend is not the only one in the picture, then, I suppose?" Finally, he was getting to the juicy parts!

Katara's face turned a beautiful shade of pink. "I—no, I just…No, well…yes…." She stammered before stopping. "Maybe."

Iroh smiled, liking this girl just a bit more. "Maybe is _always_ a good thing."


	5. Zula

_A/N: I know you guys are waiting for Sokka's point of view, but I had to do Zula first because she introduces this foreign thing called a 'plot'. You wouldn't know what that is, would you?_

**Maybe—Zula**

Her brother had changed, and Zula wasn't for sure how she felt about that.

It wasn't an obvious change, at least, not at first. His hair was still tied back in his topknot, his eyes, still golden like flame, and scar, that awful thing she hated and loved at the same time, was ever still present on his face. No, what was different about her brother wasn't clear. It was more in the way he moved, with more confidence that Zula was use to. There was also something…unfamiliar on her brother's face---a smile. Zuko never smiled, and here he was, a shy grin plastered on his face as if it dared never to go away.

Time to fix that.

"Hello, brother."

The shy grin faded almost instantly.

"What are _you_ doing here?" He spat, a familiar scowl returning to his face.

Zula smiled. "You mean I can't stop by and say hello to my dear brother?" She laughed coldly as Zuko's scowl deepened.

"What do you _want_, Zula?"

She laughed. "To speak with Uncle, actually."

Zuko raised his eyebrow suspiciously. "Uncle's not here at the moment. What do you want with him?"

"Really?" She smiled coolly. "Then do you mind telling me _where_ he is, exactly?"

"I won't let you take him away from me, Zula." Zuko growled at her, fire flaring out of his hands.

Two could play at that game. "Oh, but brother, you are so far out of the picture it's almost _funny_ how important you think you are." Two identical flames flared from her own hands as she casually played with her brother's mind.

"Then what do you need on my _ship_, Zula?" He yelled, holding his arms out in a sparing position, ready to fight her.

"Why," She laughed. "To find Uncle, of course. I thought he was traveling with you. Or did he get sick of you like Father did?" She taunted.

"Shut _up_." He threw a fireball at her head, which she more than easily dodged.

"Come on, now, brother. Just tell me where Uncle is and I'll leave you be." She batted her eyelashes playfully, enjoying this moment all too much.

"He's in town." Zuko scowled. "I'll go with you."

XXX

So _this_ was the object of Zuko's affection, the center of his change.

A _girl_.

A _pretty_ girl, too, if you ignored her obvious water-tribe heritage.

Interesting…she had always sort of assumed her brother was gay, in a not-so-obvious sort of way.

Of course, he didn't just come out and _say_ that this waterbender was his latest fancy, his _crush_…But Zula could tell by the way his breath became so short, his hands suddenly sweaty, the way he would not raise his eyes to meet the girl's, and the smallest hint of red on his face.

"You!" He screeched shortly after composing himself. "What are _you_ doing here?"

The girl jumped, and looked around, _almost excitedly,_ then her eyes landed on Zuko and she seemed just all the more happier. But it only lasted a second before she noticed Zula behind him. The waterbender's eyes narrowed and raised her nose pointedly, glaring, not at Zuko, but at Zula.

…Perhaps her brother's feelings were not as one-sided as Zula had thought.

"I could ask you the same thing." She stared angrily. "Not a real romantic spot for a date, is it?"

_Date_? _What the_—

Oh, she _didn't!_

"I'm not his _date_! I'm his _sister_!" Time to get _that_ straightened out.

The waterbender blinked. "You have a _sister_?" She asked curiously.

"So?" Zuko replied calmly. "You have a brother."

Zula rolled her eyes. "Wonderful! Here, why don't you two duke it out while I step outside with Uncle for a bit?"

Uncle looked startled for a moment, as if he had forgotten it was his niece and nephew in front of him. "But they _just_ brought me some of my favorite tea—"

"_Now_, Uncle!" Zula screeched, dragging the older man out by his hand.

Zuko stared at Katara for a brief moment; watching as she held her arms out, ready to fight. He stopped her. "I don't think it would be wise for us to fight in a crowded teahouse."

She dropped her stance carefully. "I guess not."

He smiled at her, almost seductively. "Don't worry---I'll just have to beat you another time, then."

She returned his smile equally. "We'll just see about that, then, won't we?"

Zula felt sick at her stomach.

"He _likes_ her!" She whispered to Uncle as she waited for her brother to get done _flirting_ so they could go back to the ship.

Uncle rolled his eyes. "Obviously."

Zula looked at the old man curiously. "Does she like him…like that?"

Uncle nodded. "Very much so."

Zula frowned. She was going to be oh-so-very-sick soon. Her brother with a love life…it was a _scary, scary _thought.

XXX

:end:

_A/N: Sorry it took so long to write, I kinda got writer's block about half-way though it (which is embarrassing because it's not long at all.) So sorry. Anyway, on to write Sokka's chapter! Can't wait!_

_This was going to be up yesterday, but for some reason wouldn't let me upload it! I tried several times, but it wouldn't let me!_

_So here it is now._

_Jak_


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